


Not Your Babe

by plant_s



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, I'll tag as I go, M/M, Stripper AU, cheesy pick up lines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:08:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plant_s/pseuds/plant_s
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>In all twenty one years of his life, Kenma Kozume has never been to a party, much less a nightclub. Especially not the notoriously famous gay strip club, Aoba Josai.<strong> Where the boys were big, and the egos were bigger.</strong></em>
</p><p> </p><p>--<br/>aka stripper au??? It's really just a bunch of boys who think they're cool but they're actually just huge dorks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Party City Couture

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for a while and I went ahead a wrote it out. I swear it'll get super cute from here on out. This is my first time writing a fanfic, so I hope it's good.

Kenma sighed as the _'game over'_ screen flashed for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. He couldn't seem to beat this level and it was really starting to piss him off. _‘Damn that slime monster’_ Kenma thought bitterly as the red _'game over'_ flashed mockingly in his face.He sighed and closed his DS. 

He scanned the room, there were only a few customers left in the store. There was a lady who looked fed up as soon as she walked in, her son oblivious to his mother's discontent (or he just didn't care) browsed the 'new release' section. Four kids, they looked about eight, were playing the demo of Mario Kart, and laughing loudly. One girl was sifting through the bin of discount DS games.

Kenma had thought working at the mall's largest game store, Nekoma Games, would be paradise, but it actually bored him. The customers always needed help spotting a game they were looking for or asked questions about when certain games came out. Social interaction was not Kenma's strong suit and he usually left conversation that couldn't end with "Is that all for you today?" up to his coworker Tsukishima. Kenma would rather play games than sell them, but a job’s a job and he needed a way to pay for university somehow. 

Kenma ran a hand through his hair and tapped a finger on the counter. He checked the clock, there was only thirty minutes left in his shift and he desperately wanted to go home. It was a perfectly good Friday night for staying in, _‘And beating that slime monster’_ Kenma thought tartly. Just as Kenma started stretching, his back had gone stiff from him being hunched over for so long, he heard the familiar _ding_ of the front sensor go off. 

Kenma looked across the room to see a certain redhead eagerly fast walk over to him. (There had been an incident three weeks ago where Shouyou tried running up to Kenma and accidentally knocked over a Call Out Duty standee and Tsukishima tore Shouyou a new one)

Shouyou slammed his hands down on the counter in front of Kenma with a serious look on his face. Kenma stiffened, his amber eyes grew wide before falling back to their neutral state. "Have you decided what you're going to do tonight?" Shouyou asked, looking dreadfully serious. 

Kenma sighed and looked down at his hands that were resting on the counter. He knew it would come to this. Kenma self consciously tucked a strand of semi blond hair behind his ear. "Shouyou, I don't-"

"Don't worry, I thought of something for you!" 

The redhead said excitedly, his hands waving enthusiastically in the air. Kenma side glanced at the clock _'twenty six minutes to go'_ he thought anxiously. Shouyou groaned after a moment of silence.

"Kenma, this is your _twenty first birthday_! Do you really want to spend it alone in front of your TV? That's boring and you know that, you deserve it to be all 'GWAAH'! Not _bleh_." 

Kenma smiled slightly at the fact that his childhood friend still uses "gwahh" as an adjective/verb given his adult age. The blond knows that once Shouyou has an idea, there's no way to turn him around. Maybe Shouyou was right, a change of pace would be nice, he did promise a month ago that they would do something. "Ah, okay I guess, what exactly did you have planned?" 

Kenma asked nervously, he knew this meant they were going out, the only question that made him nervous was _where_. "It's a surprise!" Shouyou said in a sing-song voice, his brown eyes looked mischievous. 

Kenma groaned. Tsukishima came out from behind the back door just as their conversation ended and immediately glared at Shouyou. Shouyou made an _'eep'_ noise and avoided eye contact. "Don't you have a job to be at?" Tsukishima said with narrow eyes, he mutter a small _‘pathetic’_ under his breathe. Before Shouyou could answer he rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Kenma. "Hey, you can go if you want. I doubt you'll get any work done with this _shorty_ bothering you, and besides, there's not many customers left." Shouyou groaned and Kenma nodded. 

\--

As soon as Kenma got home, he decided to take a shower. He didn't know where they were going and showers always seemed to calm him down. There was something about the heat from the steam that soothed the blonde. Knema thought about the time while washing his hair, Shouyou said he'd be by to pick him up around 8:30, so that only gave him 30 minutes. 

After his shower, Kenma spent the remaining time choosing an outfit and fixing his hair (which only took about five minutes) Kenma put forth the remaining time into getting a level or two done and sat promptly on his sofa. Just as he was about to beat a slime beast, he heard a loud knock at his door, which startled him, thus causing him to lose. Kenma grumbled a quick _'damn it'_ before he went begrudgingly to unlock his apartment door.

Shouyou greeted him with a huge smile, that quickly deflated. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You're really wearing that?" Shouyou asked and gestured to Kenma's outfit. Kenma looked down at himself, he thought he looked fine. He was wearing a blue sweater with a cat face on it. The sweater covered all the way down to half his thighs and he was wearing black skinny jeans underneath with black converse. This is what he normally wore, where they going where this wasn’t appropriate attire? Kenma kept his gaze down as he tried to think about places where this dress wasn't appropriate. 

"Just let him wear what he wants." Kenma looked up to see Kageyama Tobio standing next to Shouyou, they were both wearing tight shirts (Kageyama's was a v-neck) and skinny jeans. Kenma seemed a little confused and self conscious by their attire, but was relieved to know that it wouldn't just be Shouyou and him. Hopefully Shouyou's boyfriend would keep him under control tonight, wherever they were going, he usually did. 

Shouyou shrugged and the three walked down to Kageyama's car. It was blue just like his eyes and fast, it was some kind of sports car, but Kenma didn’t know what kind. He didn’t care much for cars. Kenma was surprised that Kageyama could afford a car like his from just working at a sporting goods store. Maybe it was because Kageyama didn't spend around $200, at the minimum, on Steam every two weeks like Kenma did. 

Kenma day dreamed out the window as Kageyama drove to the unknown destination. Shouyou and him were chatting about some new protein shake or something sports related, just like always. Kenma didn't really pay attention, sports kind of bored him. Before he knew it, Kageyama was pulling into a parking garage. 

Kenma kicked himself for not guessing where they were going from looking at Kageyama and Shouyou's clothing. As Kageyama parked, Shouyou turned around and flashed Kenma a thumbs up. Kenma huffed and grabbed his things. 

The three walked out of the parking garage and down the street. They were in the party district. Kenma kept his eyes down at the sidewalk as they walked down the block with the most nightclubs, drunk people were already spilling out onto the sidewalk. _‘It's only like 9 o'clock?’_ Kenma thought to himself grimly. He knew he was in for a long night. 

Kageyama and Shouyou walked in front of Kenma, holding hands and talking about something Shouyou found particularly interesting, probably volleyball related, he was making a lot of hand gestures, definitely volleyball related. Kenma smiled to himself. He had to admit they were a good couple, even if they did bicker almost everyday. 

As the three walked, the music got louder and Kenma could see blue and white lights shining closer and closer. Shouyou turned his head around and flashed a grin at Kenma. "You excited?" He asked enthusiastically. Kenma shrugged, but on the inside a small pit of anxiety formed him his stomach. 

\--

In all twenty one years of his life, Kenma Kozume has never been to a party, much less a nightclub. Especially not the notoriously famous gay strip club, Aoba Josai. Where the boys were big, _and the egos were bigger._

Kenma sighed to himself and gripped the ends of his sweater. He kept his gaze down as the walked the final last steps towards the entrance. Shouyou paid for Kenma’s entry fee, much to Kenma’s displeasure. He waved Kenma off, stating _“It’s part A of your present!”_

As the trio entered, the music got immediately ten times louder, it was already too loud for Kenma about half a block away from the building. Kenma was used to techno music from his videogames, but this was a bit too much. Kenma glanced at his best friend who was beside him, he looked like a kid in a candy shop, his eyes were wide and he was grinning from ear to ear, his head swayed to the unfamiliar tune.His boyfriend on the other hand, looked exhausted. Kenma bit his lip.

He looked around to survey his surroundings; there were three large circular platforms in the middle of the dance floor, each had a pole and someone dancing on it, in between them was a large bar. The dance floor looked packed with people. There were neon lights everywhere. This is definitely not a place Kenma would ever be caught dead in. 

Shouyou made a run for the dance floor leaving Kageyama and Kenma following behind. Once they caught up, Kageyama grabbed Shouyou's arm and yanked him back. "What do you think you're doing dumbass Hinata?" 

Kageyama grumbled in his boyfriend's face. Shouyou rolled his eyes and groaned. "It's called 'wanting to dance'. I knew it should have just been Kenma and me, I should have known you'd be a stick in the mud." Shouyou said while sticking his tongue out.

With that remark, Kageyama's face scrunched up into his world famous scowl. Shouyou yanked his arm and when Kageyama made a pulled back for Shouyou's arm, Shouyou pushed him. Before Kenma could tell them to calm down and that some people were staring, Kageyama was already barreling back into someone. 

That someone was obviously a worker here, it was a tall man with brown hair dressed in a cheesy nurse costume that was mint green colored. The worker stiffened and swiftly turned around. There was a tray with drinks in his hand. The man's face went from annoyance to laughter in .02 seconds.  
"Oh my god, is that _Tobio-chan_?" 

Kageyama stiffened at the mention of his first name, his usually cool eyes went wide with fear as soon as he focused on who was talking to him. "O-Oikawa-san!" He chirped. There was a faint sense of blush on his cheeks. 'Oikawa-san' cackled even harder, his free hand was clutching his stomach. "Oh man, I was wondering who was clumsy enough to bump into me! _Of course_ it would be grumpy little Tobio-chan.”

Kageyama grimaced and made a harsh _‘tch’_ with his teeth. Oikawa smiled sadistically down at Kageyama, the taller man’s eyes looked dark and his teeth looked ready to bite. “You used to be so cute, Tobio-chan. What happened to that little duckling I used to babysit? You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that, you know.”

Kageyama scoffed and rolled his eyes, but before he could move, Oikawa pointed at Shouyou and supplied a “Who’s that shrimpy with you?” to which Shouyou finally spoke up. Kenma, thankfully, went unnoticed by Oikawa’s rath. “Who the hell are you calling _‘shrimpy’_?” Shouyou growled. Kenma watched in horror as tensions grew between the three until a man wearing a black shirt that had ‘Bouncer’ written in white came to break them up.

“But _Iwa-chan_ , Tobio-chan _started_ it!” Oikawa whined in a high pitched voice. He acted like a five year old Kenma noted, despite his obvious older age. “Don’t call me that Trashkawa, go deliver those drinks, I’m sure those customers aren’t happy that it’s taking so long.” the bouncer grumbled. Oikawa rolled his eyes. He gave a dramatic huff before he sauntered away, his white platform pumps clacked harshly against the floor. 

The bouncer gave Kageyama and Shouyou a once over before walking off, presumably to break up more fights. Kenma swallowed hard and looked at his friends. “I’m gunna go get a drink, so, um,” Kenma motioned to the bar with his thumb. Shouyou looked a little deflated. “You know I can’t dance…” Kenma trailed off, he needed some alone time and he guessed it showed since Shouyou nodded and pulled his boyfriend into the crowd of people on the dancefloor. 

Kenma noted how crowded the bar in the middle was and didn’t feel like making the pilgrimage to it. He looked around and saw a staircase leading to a top floor. The staircase was illuminated by different pastel colors of the rainbow. Kenma rolled his eyes at how cheesy it was. He saw a couple people go up it and decided to follow them up. It seemed quiter up there. 

Kenma’s demeanor changed immediately at the sight. As soon as he reached the top, the atmosphere was completely different; there were a couple of soft white lights glowing, there was a bar that wasn’t too crowded, there were tables to sit at. This was perfect. Kenma made his way to the bar that was covered in soft green lights and sat at a stool that wasn’t too close to anyone. Kenma drummed on the counter as he waited for the bartender to notice him. 

“Can I help you sir?” Kenma shivered, he had been too deep in thought. He snapped his head up to meet the voice that spoke to him. Kenma was greeted by deadpan expression, but it didn’t look off putting, in fact, the man in front of Kenma looked out of place here. Kenma could get lost in those cool dark brown eyes if he wasn’t careful. Kenma blushed slightly once he noticed he was staring. “A water, please.” he mumbled as his eyes shot back down to his hands. 

The bartender gave him a skeptical look but filled his order regardless. Once he got his water, Kenma pulled out his DS from his pocket and switched it on. Clubbers be damned, he _was_ defeating that god forsaken slime beast _tonight_. 

Ten minutes passed and Kenma was beginning to get frustrated with his game again, he wasn’t sure what it was, he was usually so good with games. He thought about going down to the dancefloor, but quickly threw that idea out. He really didn’t want any of those people touching him. 

Just as Kenma was debating the pros and cons of trying to find Shouyou and his boyfriend on the dancefloor, someone came, rather loudly, to sit near Kenma. "Akaashi, give me the usual- Well, _hello_ there." 

Kenma decided he would ignore that, he wasn't even fully sure that "hello" was directed towards him, he was too busy trying to type out, in vain, a message to his friend. Kenma side glanced to his right to see a man, with no shirt on. He was looking at Kenma with a wicked grin. His hair was sticking up at all angles. Kenma's brows scrunched together in confusion before he looked back at his phone. "Haven't you ever seen a black cat before?" The man said in a smooth voice. 

"Not one dressed so ridiculously, and besides black cats are unlucky." Kenma said before he realized it. A small twinge of embarrassment fell over Kenma, but he tried to ignore it. Honestly, how was that a cat costume? The bartender snickered, Kenma’s cheeks colored a shade darker, but the cat didn't lose his cool. "Everyone's _lucky_ when they're with _me_." he retorted keenly. Kenma rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to look up from his phone. 

Kenma side glanced him once more, and once more the man was still looking at him with a devilish grin. Upon further inspection, Kenma noticed the cat ears that sat atop his head, the man's unruly hair almost covered them. Kenma guessed that’s what made his ‘outfit’ a costume. Kenma almost took a page out of Tsukishima's book and asked if he had a job to be at, but he refrained, choosing to play with his phone instead. 

Kenma huffed, it didn’t seem like this man was going anywhere. He was now sitting forward, but Kenma noticed that he kept glancing at him. Kenma placed his phone back in his pocket. He propped his head up with his hand and looked over at the man. The man's eyes seemed to light up and his grin grew, if that was even possible. Kenma sighed and gestured to the man's torso. "What's with the get up?" he said tiredly, trying to show his disinterest but not come off rude. Kenma supposed this was his job, talking to random people, make sure they have a “good time”. 

"It's Halloween pudding, well, at least it's the month of Halloween. We all dress up, it’s sort of like our thing, seasonal dress up and all, and this year I happen to be a _sexy_ black cat." He said with a wink. Kenma rolled his eyes. _‘An **alley cat** is more like it’_ Kenma thought bitterly. "Although, I'm usually not the one doing most of the _purring_." 

Kenma felt his ears and neck go hot, he had not expected that. Okay, that was enough of this. Kenma turned his attention back to the other side of the bar with his face still heated. He heard the man snicker. Kenma frowned and tried not to give him any attention. “So pudding, you got a name?” 

_‘What the hell was up with that nickname?’_ Kenma thought. This whole situation confused him. Why him? Out of all the willing patrons in the bar, why had this _cat_ chose him? Kenma huffed, he was just about to get up, but an arm swung around his shoulders, hard. Kenma stiffened and turned around swiftly, and swung his arm out blindly. Kenma expected the guy to on the ground, but in fact Shouyou stood in front of him, rubbing his shoulder. Kenma felt his face immediately heat up in embarrassment and guilt. 

“Woah, puddin’s got a mean left hook!” Kenma heard in the distance, but his attention was focused on Shouyou. Shouyou rubbed his arm, but smiled up at Kenma, who was still crimson red. “I came to come find you, I didn’t know you were so on edge.” Shouyou joked, which calmed Kenma down. “So pudding really does have friends,huh.” Shouyou turned around and Kenma glanced over at the man who had been bothering him. Kenma frowned, but Shouyou looked delighted. 

“Who’s this?” Shouyou asked with a smirk, his thumb pointed at the man. Kenma didn't even know what this guy’s name was. Kenma glanced to the side and muttered a “Nobody.” The guy’s mouth gaped open and he clutched his chest. “ _Nobody?_ After all the time we shared? I didn’t know cute pudding was such a _heart-breaker_.” Kenma rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time. Shouyou smirked up at Kenma. 

"Where's your boyfriend, Shouyou?" Kenma tried deflecting the subject off of him. Shouyou's smirk grew and Kenma avoided eye contact. "In the restroom. What about you, enjoying your birthday?" He said slyly. Kenma groaned. "Today's your birthday?" The man said excitedly. He leaned in close to Kenma, who in turn leaned back away. 

"You know, all birthday boys get a _special surprise_." He said with wiggling eyebrows. Kenma put on his best fake smile (which he wasn't trying at all to mask) "I'll have to decline, my friend and I were just on our way out." The man's eyes deflated, and a genuine look of sadness fell over his face. "You're going to miss my show." 

Kenma sighed and looked at the clock by the bar, green lights flashed _11:48_. "Maybe next time." Kenma muttered. The man's face instantly lit up. He got up from his seat and looked Kenma in the eyes. He lifted Kenma's chin up with his index finger. His dark brown eyes looked deep into Kenma’s amber ones, so deep that Kenma felt transparent. Kenma felt his face heat slightly. "Until next time pudding." He winked. Kenma let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and groaned. 

The man let go and walked off, but before he was out of sight he turned back. "It's Kuroo, by the way." He grinned, and walked off into the crowd, Kenma noticed the tail poking out of his shorts. Shouyou put his hand on Kenma's shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Kenma muttered a "whatever" and the two walked off to go find Kageyama. 

\--

On the ride home Shouyou bragged to Kenma about his "amazing dance skills". Kenma listened quietly and Kageyama made comments about how Shouyou, was in fact, not an amazing dancer. Eventually the conversation turned to just the two of them. Kenma looked out the window, just like he did on the way over, although his thoughts were clouded this time. 

They pulled up to Kenma's apartment in what felt like seconds. Shouyou offered to walk him Kenma up. Once they got to his door, Shouyou grabbed Kenma's hand. "I really hope you had fun tonight." Shouyou said with honest eyes. Kenma nodded tiredly. Shouyou smiled warmly before wishing Kenma good night and walking down. 

Kenma laid in bed, it was past one o'clock in the morning, but he couldn't sleep. He couldn't get the thought of washboard abs and messy hair out his mind. Kenma groaned loudly and ran a hand over his face. _‘This is not good’_ he thought with a huff.


	2. Awkward Holiday Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No sexy boys yet, but relationship developments. Somewhat?

"You know the first Friday of the month is in three days." Tsukishima said, not looking up from what he was doing. Kenma glanced to his right where Tsukishima was, he was placing security tabs on a stack of new fighter games that had just came in. Kenma looked back to the game guide he was reading. He made a slight hum to note his interest, but his eyes stayed down at the cheap guide he was leafing through. 

Tsukishima and his neighbors have this tradition where on the first Friday of every month they get together at Tsukishima's apartment and play videogames. He's invited Kenma to come the last three months, but Kenma has always declined. Two of the times Kenma had been busy, to his defense. 

"Yamaguchi said you should stop by, he said he missed you." Tsukishima continued, still looking down at his stack. Kenma smiled slightly. Kenma noticed a while ago that Tsukishima has a bad habit of blaming things on Yamaguchi to maintain his cool facade. 

"I'll think about it." Kenma mumbled, mostly to himself. Tsukishima snickered. "You always say that." He picked up a box half full of newly secured games and walked out from behind the counter. Kenma sighed and flipped the next page of his guide. 

\--

When Kenma gets home to his apartment, he makes himself dinner, which was really just instant noodles in his microwave. He knows he should eat better, he just doesn't have the time to cook a well balanced meal. He watches the microwave mindlessly, it hums softly as his noodles cook. Kenma thought about his classes that day and tried to remember if there was any assignments he forgot to do. The microwave beeped loudly and Kenma blinked before he jerked back to reality. 

He took his bowl and ate silently at his little wooden kitchen table. The table barely sat two people, but Kenma didn't mind, he got it a garage sale for only 15 dollars. Kenma looked over at the stack of books sitting next to him. He thought about his early Friday morning lectures. With a sigh, Kenma grabbed his phone. _"I'm bringing my homework over on Friday."_ Kenma typed out and sent to Tsukishima. 

Kenma ate and flipped through his computer science textbook, the tv hummed in the background. Fifteen minutes later he got a text. 

**From:** Tsukishima  
**Time:** 6:45 p.m  
**Message:**  
Lol ur such a geek, see u at 6:30 

Kenma smile but rolled his eyes at the message. 

\--

The rest of the week went by quickly, and before Kenma knew it, he was already waking up at 5 in the morning on Friday to get ready for early classes. 

Kenma decided to take early classes this year so he could fit more work into his schedule. So far his plan has worked out well, but he doesn't get much sleep, and a side effect of this is the now permanent purple circles underneath his eyes. He doesn't mind though, it's not like he's trying to impress anyone at his school. 

Kenma gets ready sluggishly and nearly falls asleep while taking a shower. He dresses in the usual oversized sweater and jeans. Kenma looks in the mirror before deciding to curl his hair so he doesn't look to trashy. After looking at his reflection for a good five minutes, Kenma wills himself to move and grabs a knit hat before he makes his way to the train station. 

He stops by a local coffee shop that's close to his campus and orders a chai latte. Kenma checked the time on his phone smiled to himself, he has 15 minutes before the has the to make the 12 minute walk to his campus and then the 15 minute walk to the building where his class is held. 

Kenma sips at his drink and enjoys the warm sting of it on the tip of his tongue, he always had a habit of burning himself when drinking something hot. Kenma looks out the window and watches some of the people walk by, the streets have a thin sheet of white snow on them and the people walking by were covered up head to toe with thick coats and knitted hats. Kenma sighed into the slit if his drink as he sipped, _'it's too cold outside'_ he thinks as he watches the people outside.

\-- 

Kenma couldn't focus on what his animations teacher was talking about, it was his last class of the day and he was feeling nervous. It dawned on Kenma that he had no idea who Tsukishima's neighbors were. He agreed to go hang out, but the only person he knew there was the host. _'Were they nice people or sarcastic? Has Tsukishima said about me to them? I hope it's not a lot of people.'_ Kenma's thoughts continued to stream through his mind like a freight train, his right leg was bouncing as he chewed on the cap of his pen. 

Kenma groaned and looked down at the jumbled notes he had took while his mind raced. He frowned, his notes were usually impeccable, but today they were incoherent. He tucked a strand of his blonde hair behind his ear and willed himself to focus. 

As Kenma jotted some notes down from the powerpoint that his teacher was droning on from, a folded piece of paper landed on his notebook. Kenma opened it **'You okay?'** was scrolled over it in messy handwriting. Kenma looked to his left to see Lev looking at him. Lev Haiba was the only college classmate that ever spoke to Kenma, he almost always came in late, but smiled regardless of what the teacher had to say. He was a nice kid, a little overbearing sometimes during lunch, but nice. 

Lev, since the first day of class, has always sat next to Kenma and tries to engage him in conversation via notebook paper. Kenma isn't sure if he appreciates the gesture or not.

Kenma wrote back **'Just tired'** and slipped it over. Within two minutes the paper landed back on Kenma's notebook. **'You don't look very tired but I'm having a New Years party coming up in a couple of weeks and you can unwind there if you want I'll text you the details!'** Kenma looked back over at Lev, he grinned and shot Kenma a thumbs up before turning back to his teacher. Kenma didn't write back. 

\--  
The door in front of Kenma is white. It was a good white, common for most doors, maybe an eggshell or a pearl. The door has a brass doorknob which compliments the white of the door. Almost at the top of the pearl white door, is a peep hole. Kenma stares at it, knowing that he's stalling. He knows that he doesn't care what color the door is, and he knows that he's afraid of what, or rather _who_ , is in the other side. 

Kenma sighs, despite his anxiety, and knocks lightly on the door. His hand falls to his side, still curled in a small fist. The door opens soon after and Kenma is greeted by Yamaguchi, who is smiling warmly. Kenma gives a small shy smile and wave before stepping in. Kenma has always liked Yamaguchi, he’s nice and caring and he respects personal space. "Tsukki, Kenma's here." Yamaguchi called as he followed Kenma inside.

Kenma looks around, he doesn't see any other guests. Tsukishima came out of the kitchen holding a bowl full of chips and placed it on the table next to another bowl of chips and a pizza. “Where’s your homework?” he asked slyly with a grin. Kenma rolled his eyes. “Where’s all your friends?” Kenma offered in return. Tsukishima chuckled to himself. Kenma takes a seat at the table and helps himself to some chips. “Well, you’re around ten minutes early and those losers are usually ten minutes _late_ so,” Tsukishima gave a circular gesture with his hand and trailed back off to the kitchen. 

Yamaguchi sat next to Kenma at the table and the two talked. Yamaguchi asked how school’s been, to which Kenma had answered ‘good’, and Kenma asked how Yamaguchi’s internship at the local news station has been going. Yamaguchi launched into a story about an interview he’d been on with this " _really crazy car dealership guy_ " and Kenma listened happily. Knema has always liked listening to Yamaguchi’s stories, he likes the way Yamaguchi talks with hands.

“And then-you’ll never guess what- the car dealer totally flips out about the clowns and-” Yamaguchi gets cut off by the front door being flung open with a loud _BAM_. Yamaguchi flinches at the bang of the door and Kenma’s eyes grow wide. He tries to crane his neck to see what the commotion is about, but he can’t see over the sofa. “Hey, hey, _heeey_! Party’s here!” Tsukishima came out of the kitchen with a scowl and walked to the front door. Yamaguchi muttered a small “Sorry ‘bout that.” 

“Why are you two so _loud_? This is why nobody on this floor likes you.” Kenma heard Tsukishima say in his trademark sardonic tone. “Oh please, everyone loves us.” Kenma heard another voice say, he didn't recognize it, it sounded boisterous, maybe a little obnoxious. “Yeah, dude, we’re the cat's pajamas here, plus we brought beer. Who doesn’t love _free_ beer?” That voice made Kenma perk up immediately. He knew that voice, the way it’s smooth yet gruff at the same time. "You mean that shitty piss water you always bring?" 

Kenma stood up and looked over to the doorway, Tsukishima was making his way back first, his hands in his pockets, then a tall man with spiked white and black hair walked in with a huge grin on his face, his arm was swung around a shorter boy who definitely looked like the bartender from that strip club Shouyou had taken him to a couple months ago. That face was too pretty to forget. Kenma’s heart raced in his chest and he felt paralyzed. _‘If that guy is here, and that voice, don’t tell me-’_ Kenma’s thoughts got cut off by the next person to enter the apartment. That smile, those eyes, that _hair_. 

Kenma swallowed, but his throat still felt dry. He never expected to see this guy ever again, much less here. The man stopped-what was his name again? It started with a K, right?- and looked directly at Kenma. Kenma looked down, the attention caused a knot in Kenma's stomach and he focused on sitting back down. The man walked straight up to Kenma, his grin widening with each step that his lengthy legs took. He was carrying two cases of beer and sat them down abruptly on the table in front of Kenma. 

The whole room seemed to stop, and even though everyone was talking, it all sounded like white noise to Kenma. The guy leaned on the stack of beer and looked down at Kenma quizzically. “D’you do something with your hair?” Kenma didn’t know what to do, he felt that all eyes were on him. Truth be told, he forgot he even touched his hair this morning. Kenma managed a short “Uh-” before he was cut off by the man grinning widely. “I like it.” 

Kenma knew that this guy was bad news, but he couldn’t help the small twinge in his stomach he felt at the compliment. Tsukishima walked over to the cases of beer and the small moment passed. “I didn’t know you knew Kuroo.” _‘Ah, that’s his name’_ Kenma thought, thanking whatever deity there was out there to save him from any more embarrassment. Kenma looked up at Tsukishima and scrambled to find an excuse for Kenma knowing a _male stripper_ of all things. Kuroo answered first though. “Met him at work.” 

Kenma felt his stomach drop. Tsukishima’s going to think Kenma’s one of _those people_ now. Kenma’s not one of _those people_. Kenma doesn't go to strip clubs, he didn't even _want_ to go the night Shouyou had taken him. Tsukishima nudged Kuroo on the shoulder. “Help me chill these.” The two got up and walked to the kitchen, taking a case each. 

The man with the pretty face came and sat next to Kenma. He grabbed a plate and fixed himself some food, Kenma figured he should probably do that, he’s been grabbing chips out of the bowl and just eating them from his hands. After his plate was full, the man turned himself to Kenma and smiled. “I’m Akaashi Keiji, I think we’ve met before. I apologize for Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san’s outbursts, they tend to be quite loud.” 

Kenma decided in that moment that he liked Akaashi. Yamaguchi engages in polite conversation with Akaashi, Kenma listens quietly. Yamaguchi’s in the middle of retelling his story about the car salesmen when there's two hands slapped on Kenma’s shoulders. Kenma stiffens abruptly. "Is this the guy that Kuroo was talking about?" 

Kenma grips the hem of his sweater and twittles it nervously. "Bokuto-san, please don't be so rough." Kenma looks to Akaashi, who's looking sternly at Bokuto. Bokuto offers a cheeky "sorry" and takes his hands off Kenma’s shoulders. "Bokuto-san, do you mind getting me a drink?" 

Akaashi asked sweetly, deliberately changing the subject. Bokuto leaned over to kiss Akaashi on the forehead, Akaashi leaned in smiling, and Bokuto left. Yamaguchi informed Kenma and Akaashi that they're welcome to the living room since the game system is set up. 

Kuroo is sitting on the far left cushion, his feet propped up on the coffee table, and pats the one cushion next to him. He wiggles his eyebrows. Kenma stalls and is about to sit on the far _right_ , but Tsukishima takes it along with Yamaguchi. Kenma sits reluctantly next to Kuroo, who's smile rivals that of the Cheshire cat. The space is too tight in Kenma’s opinion. Kenma tries to retain as much space to himself as he can, but it's not much. 

Tsukishima passes out controls to everyone, save for Akaashi and Yamaguchi, who enjoy watching instead of playing, a philosophy Kenma will never understand. "It's fun to watch, especially since Tsukki got the new _Mario Kart_ , he's been dying to play it with someone." Yamaguchi explained when Kenma gave him a look. 

Tsukishima nudged Yamaguchi in the ribs with his elbow. "Shut up, Yamaguchi. You're bad at these games anyway." Tsukishima huffed. Yamaguchi snickered as Tsukishima adjusted his glasses. Kuroo held up his controller and looked down at Kenma. "Hey pudding, I'll go easy on you if you want." 

Kenma rolled his eyes, mostly at the nickname Kuroo keeps using. "I don't need you to go easy on me." Kenma miffed. Tsukishima snickered loudly. Kuroo scoffed defensively. "You all know I'm the _king_ of racing games." Kuroo lent down next to Kenma’s ear. Kenma could feel Kuroo's warm breath on the shell of his ear. "They're just jealous because I'm seriously _the best_ at this game." 

Kuroo sat back up with a grin, his gaze lingered on Kenma. Kenma’s neck felt hot and he kept his eyes down. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "That's about the _only_ game you've got." He mocked with a smile. Bokuto erupted in a fit of hard cackles as he sat down by Kuroo's feet. Akaashi was in his lap holding a can of Sprite and a plate of pizza. Yamaguchi sniggered to himself while looking at Tsukishima, who looked very satisfied with his comment. Kenma smiled and contained a laugh. Kuroo sputtered with his rebuttal, the best he could come up with was "I've got _loads_ of game!" 

Kuroo started the game with a grumble, soon everyone was picking characters. Tsukishima immediately picked Yoshi, which really wasn't a surprise. Kuroo picked Bowser, Kenma could see some resemblance. Bokuto picked Luigi, which was odd to Kenma, he's never really seen someone _pick_ Luigi. 

Kenma looked at the screen, he didn't really know who to pick. He's not a big _Mario Kart_ fan, he doesn't have a large enough friends group to play it with and it's too boring alone. Kenma went with Peach since he felt nervous for being the last to pick. She's in his top five picks for _Smash Bros_ and he figured if she's good there, she'd be good here. Kuroo side glanced Kenma with a wolfish grin. Kenma kept his eyes straight, but felt self conscious about his character choice. 

The screen changed before Kenma could switch out his character. The group customizes their cars and move on to the maps. Bokuto and Tsukishima got into an argument about some map. Something about "not picking the pussy level again", Kenma wasn't really listening. 

Kuroo nudged Kenma’s arm. Kenma coiled his arm closer to himself. "I'm gunna go get something to eat, you want anything?" Kenma heard, he shook his head. Kuroo got up, and Kenma took the opportunity to stretch out a little. 

Someone pressed the start, Kenma isn't sure who. The countdown started, everyone's engines were revving up, except Kuroo's. A string of " _fuckfuckfuck_ " left Kuroo's mouth as he rushed over to the sofa, a piece of pizza hanging out of mouth. He bumped into Kenma as he fell haphazardly onto the sofa and fumbled with his controller. Bokuto laughed and Kuroo kicked him with his right foot. Bokuto returned with a punch to Kuroo's thigh. 

Kenma scowled as the fighting continued, random limbs bumped in to Kenma, much to his displeasure. Akaashi calmed Bokuto down by reminding him that he was now in 7th place. Kenma silently thanked him. He kept his focus on the game and tried not to mind the trash talk that began, mostly on Bokuto's part. 

Kenma managed to get first place midway through the second lap. Tsukishima visibly tensed and leaned closer to the tv. Yamaguchi continued to cheer for Tsukishima as Yoshi caught up to Peach at the beginning of the third lap. Kenma chewed on his bottom lip as their karts bumped together on a sharp turn. 

Kenma dropped a banana at the same time Tsukishima flung a red shell and both the karts faced a penalty. Kenma muttered a "shit" under his breath as Bowser took the lead. "Ohoho!" Kuroo howled. Bokuto by this point has stopped playing and started cheering for Kuroo. 

The finish line was in sight. Kenma glanced at Kuroo who in turn glanced at Kenma with a wide grin. Kenma threw a red shell, Kuroo dodged it, but vered off into a sitting banana. Kuroo instantly shot up off the sofa. " _Fuck_ no." Kuroo cried as Peach zoomed past the finish line. Kenma sat contently as Kuroo hurried to finish the game. He ended up in 4th. Tsukishima rolled his eyes at 2nd place. 

Kuroo turned towards Kenma and shoved his controler in Kenma’s face. "You cheated." He accused. Kenma frowned and moved the controller out of face. "I don't cheat." Kemna said, mildly offended. "I want a rematch." Kuroo said while retaking his seat next to Kenma. Kenma shrugged and picked his controller up. 

By the time they were done, Kenma had won four of the five games they played. Kenma turned to face Kuroo, whose shoulders were slumped slightly and staring at the tv. Before Kenma could say anything, Bokuto spoke up from the floor. "Are you always this good at games?" 

Kenma tensed and fingered the hem of his sweater. "I have a lot of free time." Kenma mumbled, his eyes shifting down. "He works with me, of course he's good at games." Tsukishima said with an eyebrow raised. Bokuto turns around excitedly, a bright smile shining on his face as he looks at Kenma. "So you're the coworker Tsukishima always talks about." 

Kenma's face heats up. Before Tsukishima can say anything, Yamaguchi cuts him off. "It's always good things! You're Tsukki's favorite person to work with." Tsukishima nudges Yamaguchi with his elbow and mutters a "shut up" and glares at him, although the glare looks more like embarrassment rather than anger. 

"Is there anything else you want to play? We have some old school games too." Yamaguchi said changing the subject. Kenma shrugged, Kuroo perked up. Yamaguchi got up and walked off towards the bedroom, Tsukishima tailing behind him. "Akaashi, please play _Street Fighter_ with me! You're really good at it." Bokuto begged as he hugged him close to his chest. "Maybe, Bokuto-san." Akaashi said with a shy smile. Kenma watched the way Bokuto and Akaashi interacted, he found their relationship interesting. Akaashi seemed so quiet and Bokuto was so loud, but they both seemed really happy. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi came back, Yamaguchi's arms full of games. He laid them all out on the living room floor and named a couple off. A few of them caught Kenma's attention, but he made no move to voice it. 

Bokuto begged to play _Street Fighter_ and Tsukishima put it in, muttering a "If it'll shut you up." Akaashi and Bokuto played a couple rounds, Akaashi winning all of them. From _Street Fighter_ they played _Pac-Man_. After dying several times, Tsukishima handed the controller off to Kuroo, muttering "It's always Clyde." 

Kuroo picks _Galaga_. "Back in college, Oikawa and I used to play this game all the time. It was practically what we majored in." He tells Kenma, as Kenma picks "Player 2". "I promise I'm good at this one too." Kuroo says with a wink as the round starts up. They manage to get pretty far but decide to change it out for _Dig Dug_. Kenma plays mostly until he gets bored and puts in _Katamari Damacy_ , one of Kenma's favorite games. 

The game heats up as Kenma beats more and more rounds. Bokuto and Kuroo's cheers become more and more loud, especially as the timer starts counting down, especially since Kenma needs 5 more meters to pass. Kenma bites his lip and leans in more, trying to concentrate on the screen and not Bokuto's yelling. 

"Bokuto-san, please keep your voice down, it's very late." Akaashi said, trying to hush Bokuto. "It can't be _that_ late?" Kuroo asked looking towards Kenma, Kenma shrugged and pulled out his phone. It was a little past two o'clock in the morning. Well there goes any chance of walking without feeling scared. Kenma hasn't ridden the bus in a while. 

"Do you need a ride home?" Kuroo asked, pulling Kenma out of his thoughts. Without realizing it, Kenma nodded with a yawn. "I can take you home." Kenma felt hot and fiddled with his sweater as his mind registered what he agreed to. "Oh, you don't-" 

"I don't mind." Kuroo flashed a smile over at Kenma. "We'll be making our leave as well." Akaashi said, standing up and stretching his long legs. 

Everyone said their goodbyes, mostly to Tsukishima since Yamaguchi fell asleep on the sofa at one point. Kuroo and Kenma walked down the stairs in silence. As they reach the parking garage, Kuroo asks for Kenma’s address. "Do you live close by there?" Kenma asks after he tells him. Kuroo laughs. "I live here, floor five."

Kenma turns to Kuroo with wide gold eyes. Kuroo glances at Kenma briefly before turning back to road. "Before you start, I don't mind." Kenma huffs, although he feels like a burden and a small pit of anxiety builds in his stomach. He doesn't live too far away from Tsukishima, without traffic it's only fifteen minutes. 

Once Kuroo pulled up to Kenma's building, he offered to walk Kenma up, Kenma declined but thanked him for the ride. "Anything for you, Pudding." Kenma frowned at his nickname and shut the door, he thinks he heard a "good night", but isn't sure. Kenma waves and Kuroo drives off. 

\-- 

"It has to be fate." Shouyou said while taking a bite of his doughnut, smearing chocolate icing on his cheek as he talked. Kenma sighed and passed Shouyou a napkin. "It's not fate, it was awkward." Kenma mumbled while stirring his coffee. 

"Why? Because you were really sassy to him when you first met him?" Shouyou said with a smile as he wiped the icing off. Kenma frowned and looked to the table, the back of his neck heating up. "I wasn't sassy. I just never expected to see him again." 

Shouyou laughed lightly, his smile was bright. Kenma sipped his coffee, it was cold by now. "Well, you obviously didn't make a bad impression, seeing as he _drove you home_." 

"That doesn't mean anything. Plus they all talk about me." Kenma said defensively. Shouyou rolled his eyes. "That's just because you're cute. You said he was attractive right? You should go in for the kill. Maybe this year you'll get a boyfriend." Shouyou wiggled his eyebrows and smirked towards Kenma. Kenma groaned and stirred his coffee with his spoon, he doesn't want a boyfriend like that. "You asked me if I thought he was hot and I said 'He's not ugly.' That doesn't mean I think he's totally attractive." 

"But you _don't_ think he's _ugly_." Shouyou said with a growing smile, his spoon pointing at Kenma. Kenma frowned and looked out the window. "I mean, the guy's got a great body, sixteen year old me would've freaked if a guy like that hit on." Shouyou continued while Kenma tried to ignore him. 

"Sixteen year old you got off to _Sports Illustrated_." Kenma said turning back to his coffee. "What can I say, I like buff guys." Shouyou said defensively, throwing his hands up. He huffed and changed the subject sensing Kenma’s growing discomfort. "Are you doing anything for New Years?" He said finishing the last of his doughnut. "I'm going to a party at Lev's house, his parents are away for their anniversary or something." Kenma said looking up to meet Shouyou's eyes again. 

Shouyou looked surprised, then he smiled. "If you leave before ten o'clock, call me. We're not doing anything fun, just going to Kageyama's parents' house." Kenma nodded. The conversation died out. As Kenma checked his phone, he heard Shouyou start to giggle. Kenma looked up and quirked an eyebrow at his friend. 

"I just thought, knowing your luck, what if that guy is at Lev's party? It'll definitely fate then." Shouyou winked, Kenma frowned. Fate doesn't work like that. 

\--

It does apparently. Kenma can't believe this. It's not even eight-thirty and he's already feeling exhausted. Kenma looks over the counter he's crouched behind. He sees Kuroo in the living room talking to a couple of girls he doesn't know. The girls are laughing, Kuroo is smiling. Kenma frowned. _'What is he even doing here?'_ Kenma thought as he tried to stay hidden behind the counter. " _Kenma!_ You came!" 

Kenma jolted and turned around quickly looking guilty. Lev was standing there, smiling wide and drink in hand. Kenma shushed him. Lev looked confused. "Ken-" Kenma reached up and tried to clamp his hands over Lev's mouth, but he's too short, so he ended up just waving his hands in front of Lev's face. Kenma turned around to scan the living room, golden eyes wide. Kuroo was still there, he didn't seem to notice what was happening, he looked too involved in the conversation. 

Kenma turned back to Lev who still looked very confused. Kenma took a deep breath. Lev crouched down next to Kenma. "I'm avoiding someone." Kenma said after he realized Lev was waiting for an answer. "You're hiding in the kitchen?" Lev asked confused. Kenma nodded.

He came in to get a soda (Kenma quickly realized that there wouldn't be soda, because what college kid drinks soda at a party?) and recognized the laugh that flooded the living room ten minutes ago. He's been in ever since, not wanting to risk Kuroo noticing him. 

"Do you still want to meet Yaku?" Lev asked after a minute or two of silence. Kenma’s surprised Lev is still here. He forgot that was one of the main points of coming to this party instead of just staying home. Lev had been talking about his new boyfriend for a while, but Kenma’s never met him. Kenma looked over at Lev and nodded. Lev broke out in a bright grin. "I think he's upstairs- oh! And that's good for you too, since there aren't many people up there." 

Kenma looked out to the living room, by this time Kuroo was gone. He looked towards Lev, who was waiting for Kenma to move. Kenma grabbed his cup of water and followed Lev up the stairs, feeling a little uneasy. 

There was people dancing in the living room to a beat that Kenma didn't know. The stairs were crowded with, what Kenma assumes, are hook ups. Lev says hi to a couple of people on the way up, he introduces Kenma to a few people, but Kenma doesn't put effort into remembering their names. 

There's a room upstairs with its door open. There are people's cheers and music that doesn't match the toon from downstairs spilling out. Lev leads Kenma in, Kenma stops by the doorway. Who else should be in playing _Guitar Hero_ but the man Kenma doesn't want to see. Kuroo is there, in front of the TV playing a duet with a much shorter man. Kenma doesn't recognize the song, he doesn't listen to rock music often, but most of the people in the room are singing along to it as the two in front jam out on their plastic guitars. 

Kenma assumes the shorter man by Kuroo is Yaku by the way Lev runs up to him and squeezes him around the waist. Yaku screams and tries to push Lev off of him, but Lev doesn't budge. Kenma finds it cute how much of a height difference Yaku and Lev have. "Kenma, this is Yaku." Lev calls from the front of the room. Everyone's eyes follow Lev's voice and turn to face Kenma, who's trying to shrink into the door jam. 

There aren't many people in the room, maybe around six, but it feels like a hundred when Kuroo turns around and locks his dark brown eyes to Kenma’s. In hindsight it would have been a good idea to tell Lev _who_ Kenma was avoiding. No going back now. 

Kuroo hands the plastic guitar to someone next to him and walks over to Kenma. Kenma bites his bottom lip, the back of his neck feels like it's on fire. He keeps his eyes to the floor even when he sees a pair of ratty black Converse come into his view. "Hey there Puddin', what are you doing here?" Kuroo asks excitedly. 

All Kenma can manage is a stammered "Uh..." before Lev cuts him off. "I didn't know you knew Kuroo!" Kenma looked from Lev to Kuroo to back to Lev. Everyone seems to know Kuroo. "I didn't know _you_ knew him either..." Kenma said with a nervous laugh, his gaze still lingering on the floor. "Oh yeah, we work together." 

Kenma’s eyes widened and a heat creeps through him."I didn't know you stripped." Kenma said before he could stop himself, embarrassment heating up over him. Kenma can't imagine Lev as a stripper. He's way too lanky to be a stripper, in Kenma’s opinion. Also Lev doesn’t have a good butt, all strippers are supposed to have a butt, right? Kenma doesn't actually know and tries in vain to rid the multiple images of Lev in a stripper costume his mind is flooding him with. 

Kuroo busts out laughing so hard he starts wheezing. Lev looks confused. "Lev works at the zoo with me." Kuroo says as he wipes a tear away from eyes, a few giggles make there way up as he speaks. Now it's Kenma’s turn to be confused. "I'm training Lev to work with the big cats." Kuroo continues, holding his hands up as claws for emphasis, amused at Kenma's expression. 

"I thought-... I mean. I have to go." Kenma mumbled as he walked past Kuroo and Lev feeling thoroughly embarrassed. He walks through a couple hanging out by the stairs, they shout, but Kenma doesn't hear him, his heartbeat is too loud in his ears. Kenma makes his way across the living room, there's people dancing, a couple talking on the sofa. 

Kenma walks out through the kitchen to outside patio. Three guys Kenma doesn't know are smoking near the fire pit, but other than that everyone is mostly indoors. There's a fresh coat of snow on the ground. Kenma can see his breath as he looks up at the sky, it's too cold to be out here. There weren't many stars out. Kenma shivered as he takes out his phone and calls Shouyou. 

"Hey Kenma, how's your party?" Shouyou answers after the second ring. Kenma sighed. His cheeks are still warm and cool air feels good on them. "I feel like I'm embarrassing myself." He says after a while. 

Kenma hasn't been to a party by himself since sophomore year of high school. His anxiety problems were much worse back then, but he wanted to do something new. He only stayed around an hour before went home. Once Kenma and Shouyou got to college, he's tried going out by himself again, he doesn't want to be a burden to his best friend. Shouyou never minded, he was always comfortable around people, a trait Kenma was jealous of. 

"Do you want us to pick you up? We're not too far." Shouyou asked, Kenma could hear a touch of uneasiness in his voice. Someone muffled a _"We are far dumbass."_ in the background that Kenma guesses is Kageyama. _"Shut up."_ Shouyou said, it sounded like his hand was on the speaker, his voice sounding muffled too. "We're not far, if you need me, promise." 

Kenma sighed, he didn't want to always rely on his friend when it came to this stuff, especially now that he has a boyfriend. "I just wanted someone to talk to." Kenma murmured, his voice felt small. He also didn't want the people smoking to think he was a loser with anxiety issues. "Is there a lot of people?" 

"Yes, well somewhat, I'm not too worried about the crowd, Lev said he'd show me around, but Kuroo is here. You jinxed me." Kenma said with a huff. "No. _Way_." Shouyou squawked. Kenma could imagine his face, bright wild eyes, huge open mouth. Kenma rolled his eyes as Shouyou continued. "I told you it's fate! I told him." That last part Kenma assumes was directed at Kageyama. 

"This doesn't mea-" Kenma was cut off Kuroo's face popping out of nowhere and a hand shooting to the side of the house Kenma was leaning on. Kenma jolted with a sqwuak. It would have been cool, if Kuroo had caught the side of the house and not missed sending him face first into the ground where some snow piled up. Kenma gasped, his eyes growing wide as he watched Kuroo fall. 

"Shouyou, I need to call you back." Kenma said and hung up even as he heard protests on the other side. "Are you okay?" Kenma asked after Kuroo didn't get up, he was still laying there. Kuroo rolled over and put both his arms behind his head and looked up at Kenma with a smirk. "Hey, so, I guess you're not a fan of AC/DC?" Kuroo asked naturally. 

Kenma stood there, his feet felt heavy like cement weighted him down, and stared confused. That fall looked like it hurt. Kuroo got up eventually, a groan escaped his mouth as he dusted his hands off on his jeans. "That was the song that was on when you left, guess you're not a big rock and roll fan. Uh, what'cha doing out here, it's kind of really cold?" Kuroo sounded a tab awkward. 

Kenma shrugged. It was cold, but he felt too hot indoors with all the people around. All of his confidence that he came with was lost now. He shivered, his gaze traveling back down. "Come on, I'll make you a hot chocolate. You don't drink right?" Kuroo said with a sincere smile. Kenma shook his head and followed him inside. 

Kenma hadn't realized how cold it actually was outside, as soon as he got inside he shivered at the temperature difference. The kitchen was mostly empty. Most of the bottles of alcohol were in the living room by now, some people were drinking straight out of them. He looked over in disgust as one student down the contents of one of the bottles, others around him cheered. Kenma never understood how that out balanced the hell of a hangover. Kenma turned his attention back over to Kuroo, who was searching through the pantry for instant hot chocolate. 

"I didn't expect to see you here." Kuroo said in an attempt to make conversation. He got two mugs from the shelf and began to pour the chocolate powder in them. "Me either." Kenma supplied as he got the milk out of the refrigerator. Kuroo laughed at Kenma’s comment as he mixed the milk in the mugs. "Are you not a fan of parties? You look a little nervous." 

Kenma watched as Kuroo placed both mugs in the microwave. "I don't like crowds." Kenma played with his hands and didn't look up as he spoke. "Lev has a Playstation upstairs and I know you like video games. I can kick some people out if you want. We can hang out up there." Kuroo handed Kenma a mug as with a smile. 

Kenma accepted it and took a small sip. The hot liquid warmed his throat as it slid down. "What about your friends?" Kenma asked, looking over his mug and took a sip. 

Kuroo looked up from where he was stirring liqueur in his hot chocolate. Kenma scrunched his nose up, that doesn't look to good to him. Kuroo shrugged. "I don't have too many friends here. Mostly just you and Lev. I'm actually 87% sure I look like an old creepy guy crashing a college party." Kuroo joked, but squawked when Kenma agreed. "I'm not that old, geez. You're twenty-one right? Twenty-five isn't _that_ much older." 

Kenma smiled and took another sip from his drink. The two talked in the kitchen for a while. It was mostly Kuroo doing the talking since Kenma was busy drinking his hot chocolate. Kuroo talked about why he was there at the party and not at his parents house; his mother always brought up how she disapproved of "certain life choices" which Kuroo explain was code for his stripping. 

Kenma just didn't like to go back home, he never really fit in with his family. He neglected to voice that though. 

The two finished their drinks and Kuroo led the way back upstairs. There was some commotion coming from the upstairs living room that was just past the stairs. Kuroo followed the noise and Kenma followed Kuroo. Some Students were sitting around on the floor, a few others were on the sofa. Kenma saw Lev sitting on the sofa, Yaku was next to him, Lev's arm was around him. Kenma recognized a few other students that were sitting about, but he didn't know their names. 

"Kenma come help us pick a game!" Lev called from where he sat. Kenma walked over and took a seat on the floor. "Are we back in high school?" Kuroo joked as took a seat next to Kenma. "Maybe you're too _old_ to get it." Kenma mumbled with a soft smile. 

Kuroo nudged Kenma in the side with his elbow. "That's what I keep telling him." Yaku says while crossing his arms with a frown and looks up at Lev, who smiles down at his boyfriend. Kenma’s comment going unnoticed by the others. Games could be fun, Kenma muses. It beats standing around awkwardly waiting for midnight. "What games were you thinking of?" Kenma asks curiously.

Lev brightens as he rattles off the two games he was just thinking about; "truth or dare" and "seven minutes in heaven", both of which Kenma shot down instantly. Kenma wasn't about to get trapped doing weird sexual things with anybody. "Let's just play beer pong. That game's a party classic." Kuroo mused. Lev seems to like the idea, seeing as he jumped up and announced it to the room they were in. As the four walked downstairs, Lev told everyone he saw that they were starting a game of beer pong. 

Kenma helped set up the ping pong table with Yaku, leaving Lev and Kuroo to go get the drinks. Yaku briefly explains the rules to Kenma while the other two are away. The other two boys come back and started to set up the cups. "What's in those cups?" Yaku asked as Kuroo was setting up his side of the table. Kenma looked over to see every other cup was filled with a transparent liquid. "Well Kenma is on my team so they're filled with water because Kenma doesn't drink." Kuroo smiled over at Kenma. 

Kenma didn't really want to play, especially since more people showed up, but he figured one round wouldn't be too bad, especially since Kuroo went to the trouble of getting him water. 

Lev and Kuroo flipped a coin to see who would go first. Lev won. As he aimed, Lev stuck his tongue out his mouth. Lev threw the ball with a confident smile. It hit the rim of a cup and flew to the floor. Kenma picked the ping pong ball up and handed it to Kuroo, who motioned for Kenma to throw it. Kenma bounced the ball on the table and it landed in a cup with a soft plop. Lev took the cup up and drank it. 

The game continued like that for four rounds before Kenma made Kuroo take a turn. Kuroo protested by saying Kenma was "good luck", but took the ball in the end. Kuroo missed and it was Yaku's turn. More and more people started showing up to the game and Kenma started feeling nervous. 

Kuroo picked up on Kenma’s fidgeting. "Do you wanna go do something else?" Kuroo whispered, as Lev was about to shoot. "You can stay here. I don't mind." Kenma murmured as he watched Lev miss a cup terribly. Kuroo shook his head and announced that he was done playing. A couple people in the crowd urged him to keep playing but he started to make his way out. Kenma followed. Two guys took their place and the crowd stayed to watch. 

"You wanna go out to the front porch?" Kuroo asked as the two walked through the kitchen. "I thought it was too cold?" Kenma said as he grabbed a cup of water. Kuroo looked over the counter Kenna was leaning on and smirked. "It is, but it's stuffy in here." Kenma chugged the rest of his water and followed Kuroo out to the front. 

The air outside was brisk. Kenma shivered as he took a seat on the bench on the porch of the house. Kuroo stayed by the door jam. Kenma played with his fingers in his lap. He kept his gaze down. "You didn't have to come out." 

"I think we both established that I'm too old for this party," Kuroo said jokingly. Kenma smiled. "Plus, you're like my friend." 

Kenma stopped twiddling his fingers and paused. He hadn't expected that. Were they friends? Kenma didn't know, he just knew they kept bumping into each other by (unfortunate) coincidences. He assumed they were, at best, acquaintances. _"It's fate!"_ Shouyou's voice rang through Kenma's ears. Kenma frowned. _'Fate isn't real'_ he reminded himself. 

"Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking but, if you don't like crowds, how come you were okay in the club back in October?" Kuroo asked dragging Kenma out of his thoughts. Kenma looked over. "I was distracted. I had my DS, I'm okay as long as I'm distracted. I've always been like that, video games just distract me better than anything else. It also wasn't too crazy on the top floor." Kuroo gave a "Huh" as he came to sit on the other side of the bench. "Are you excited for the new year?" Kuroo asked after a moment of silence. 

Kenma looked back down at his hands and shrugged. It's just another school year in Kenma’s opinion. "Are you?" Kenma asked quietly. "I guess so, I always look forward to the new year, new changes and all that. This year I think I want to try getting in a relationship again. Everyone I know is either dating or _married_." Kuroo stressed the word 'married' and Kenma didn't have to look at his face to know he was a little upset. 

Kenma huffed, he didn't get what the big deal in liking someone was. He's never been in a relationship and he's doing okay. "What happened to your other one?" Kenma asked just for conversation sake. "She found out I'm bisexual, also a stripper at a gay club. Which I probably should have told her, but it just never came up. And also, you'd be surprised at the number of women that show up to the club, so is it really a gay club? Plus, Oikawa and Bokuto are the only guys who are _actually_ gay that work there."

Kenma watched as Kuroo went on ranting. Every now and then Kenma supplied a nod or a hum. It was interesting listening to Kuroo's past relationships, his longest was only seven months and that was freshman year of college. In the middle of his rant about how stupid labels are, Kuroo was cut off by a loud cracking boom. Kenma and Kuroo looked up to the sky from the porch; a firework had gone off, sparkling red lighting up the black night sky. 

Kenma turned to the window and saw students kissing in the living room, while others cheered. He scrunched his nose up. "I see you're not a fan of new years kisses." Kuroo laughed. Kenma rolled his eyes with a huff. He watched as more fireworks exploded in the sky. 

Kenma took out his phone and saw that he had snapchat from Shouyou. Kenma opened it and a video played. Shouyou was sitting next to Kageyama on a sofa. He was smiling wide as he wished Kenma a happy new year. Shouyou bumped Kageyama's arm and Kageyama groaned. "Do I have to?" Shouyou nodded. Kageyama picked up a paper horn and blew it while looking directly into the camera. Shouyou kissed Kageyama's cheek. 

It would have been cute, if not for a man with brown wavy hair, came into the screen and shouted out "That's pretty _gay_ Tobio!" Before Kageyama shouted back "You're _married_ to a man!" The video ended with Shouyou giggling. Kenma smiled down at his phone. "I didn't know you had a snapchat, what's your username?" 

Kenma felt his neck go hot, Shouyou had made it for him and he hasn't given it to many people, mostly due to its lame username. Kenma didn't mind at first, but in situations like this he felt self conscious. Kenma handed Kuroo his phone and looked in the opposite direction. He heard Kuroo snicker. " _Shyguy-Applepie_?" 

"Shouyou made it for me." Kenma shot back defensively. Kuroo laughed more. "Mine isn't much better and I made it on my own." Kenma looked down at his phone to see ' _Cat-Daddy has accepted your request_ '. Kenma snorted. He looked over to see Kuroo smiling, a hint of red on his cheeks. "I own three cats." 

"You don't seem like a cat person." Kenma said sarcastically. "Everyone says that." Kuroo laughed. "You should come see them. _You_ seem like a cat person." Kenma shrugged. "Maybe." He mumbled. Kenma really was a cat person, he just didn't want to admit it. 

Kenma yawned. Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "Need a ride home?" Kenma twiddled his fingers. "It's okay, someone else-" Kuroo raised his hand, cutting Kenma off. "I told you I don't mind." 

Kenma went inside to say goodbye to Lev. He wished him and Yaku a happy new year, Lev hugged him tightly. Kenma patted his back awkwardly until he let go. 

It was quiet in Kuroo's car on the way home, save for the radio that was on. The host was talking away about the new year and the new changes that would come. Kenma figured nothing for him would change. ' _It's just another boring year_ ' he thought as he looked out of the window. 

"Want me to walk you up?" Kuroo asked as he pulled up to Kenma’s building. Kenma shook his head as he took his seatbelt off. "Are you sure? You look like you're going to fall asleep right now." Kenma opened his door. "I'm fine. Thanks for the ride." He said as he walked out. Kuroo rolled the window down. "Good night, I hope you had a good new year." Kenma nodded and wished him the same. "See you later." Kuroo said before rolling his window up and driving off. 

Something about the way Kuroo said "see you later" struck a cord with Kenma. He sounded so sure there would be a next time. Kenma wasn't sure he wanted there to be a next time. He didn't know how he felt about Kuroo. Was he nice? Sure. Attractive? Maybe. His personality is... different, but not that bad. Something about him still seemed off. Was it because he was a stripper? Probably. He still feels a little awkward around Lev sometimes. Kenma has also just been weary of new people ever since he was little. " _He's just not a people person_ " he heard his mom say in the back of his head. 

Kenma frowned as he opened his apartment door. He dropped his keys in the bowl he kept in the kitchen and went to his bedroom. He changed into his pajamas, still feeling mixed about how his night went. Kenma huffed and checked his phone; there was a couple texts from Shouyou, he'd read those in the morning, and a snapchat from _Cat-Daddy_. 

Although his gut told him not to, Kenma opened it to see Kuroo in his living room with all three of his cats in his lap, two of them looking trapped. He was smiling mischievously at the camera with the caption "drowning in the pussy". Kenma snorted and set his phone down. He huffed, knowing that there would be a next time, no matter how mixed up he felt. He fell asleep with queasy feeling in his gut and a slight dread for the new year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always comments are appreciated! I promise strippers in the next chapter. If you like anime trash blogs hit me up at sproutyplant.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> If you have suggestions or comments I really appreciate the feedback! Thanks!  
> I promise there will be more characters soon!


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